What follows below are reviews, remarks and documentation of the event by the people who were there in various forms – mostly blogs, videos and photos.

Where handy, I’ve included a sample quote or photo to show a bit of the flavour of the artifacts which are arranged in no particular order or selected without any subjective criteria. Did i miss your blog post, photoset, video or slidedeck? Drop a comment below for the record.

Blog Articles

As I said in my introductory post, I’m not here to make light of these important and potentially heavy talks but I’ll definitely be providing a different perspective than one you might not see unless you were here. Heck, even if you were here you might not even take note of it: my blog posts today are going to focus on our presenters shoes.

If you watched Nazanin Afshin-Jam‘s talk, she discussed human rights violations, the Stop Child Executions Organization and how “We can be a voice for the voiceless”. Her talk is deep, with some heavy slides, it is revealing and it is inspirational to say the least.

photo by Kris Krug

Her shoes reflect the freedoms she talks about, the freedoms and opportunities of living in Canada that she has “never taken for granted” after escaping an oppressive life with her family in Iran. Today Nazanin wears incredibly fashionable, shiny black Burberry pumps that feature a black and white check on the side. She talks about her mother and how a change in government went from her wearing “the latest fashions off of Paris runways” to having to cover her face. Our freedoms, her freedoms, are reflected in her selection of shoes that she has the right to wear today. Her overall message is “Use your blessings to advance humanity in your own way” while not taking your freedoms for granted, and the audience receives it loud and clear.

I saw Josh Fox on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show so am a little aware of Gasland – a film about natural gas companies who contract property owners around the US to put pumps on their land. For impoverished folks, this can be a windfall but there are huge consequences with polluted ground water, ill health and all sorts of problems.

He was just nominated for an Academy Award, let’s see what Josh Fox has to say.

Here he comes… with a banjo! {overdub: “I’m not a pessimist”… says the film.} This is gonna be good! ”It’s gonna be a bit of an adventure today.” says Mr. Fox. Noted.

…Rayher and Mahoney based their talk on the generational theories of social historians William Strauss and Neil Howe. At the centre of Strauss and Howe’s theory is the recurrent cycles of generations. The basic idea is that each generation takes on one of four archetypes. They are the Prophet generation, the Nomad generation, the Hero generation and the Artist generation. These theories are based on historical analysis of generations past. The last Hero generation (considered to be transformative and world-changing) was the G.I. generation born between 1901 and 1924. That means if the theory is correct, the next Hero generation should be Gen Y. And that was the foundation of Rayher and Mahoney’s talk.

The music by Don Alder and rapper Kyprios was impressive. Alder’s cool guitar stylings set a vibrant mood in the auditorium, while Kyprios’ intense rhymes rocked the crowd. His rap on racism and stereotypes set off a few alarms with its fowl, blunt language that surely rangled some, but its artistic merit and value were clear. At the end of the night, the two collaborated on a rather amusing freestyle guitar and rap jam session that was pretty cool.

As the day went on we saw a wide array of speakers from Yael Cohen, young founder of F**k Cancer to Dr John “Jack” Horner, one of the best-known paleontologists in the United States. Vancouver celebrity interviewer Nardwuar did what I’m sure is TED’s first stage dive into the crowd at the end of his speech and managed to crowd surf all the way to the top of the auditorium. During the breaks the speakers and the attendees mingled and new friendships and future collaborations were born.

Take Tedx Vancouver for example, last year FIJI water sponsored the event, and had their product out for grabs. From what I heard organizers got grief about it (refer back to the Story of Bottled Waterif you’re still wondering why).

In making products to change behavior, cool helps – if people like the product, they use it (we thought we’d do glass because it’s unique and different, just like Tedx even though rumor has it that glass has a bigger footprint than steel).

My final thoughts: While I was there and on my way home, I thought of all of the many individuals I know who would benefit from sharing ideas at this event. Real thought-leaders when it comes to environmental change especially. Many of my Main Street neighbours and people like Lorne Craig from Green Briefs http://unicyclecreative.com/, Clay Yandle from Sharkbite Art & Design www.sharkbite.ca and Clint Mahlman, Senior VP of London Drugs www.greendeal.ca. So many of us are working toward the same goal particularly when it comes to sustainability. It will be great to see TED grow so change can.

Jeet-Kei Leung, spoke on Transformational Festivals, and the new evolutionary culture that they have spawned. Across the Pacific North West and down to San Francisco, people have been gathering in the wilderness to dance, celebrate and deepen their connection with nature and themselves. Temporary Autonomous Zones are generated through events like Burning Man in the Nevada desert and BC’s own Intention. People are seeking ways to evolve themselves in community through unbridled artistic creativity and workshops ranging from permaculture to meditation. The industrial mind-set has imbedded the idea that change must be hard and painful. However, Jeet-Kei reminds us that joy and celebration are innate to our humanity. Learning through community amongst fellow creatives is another way to transform one’s world and, perhaps more importantly, oneself.

Last year’s event was the first time I was in a room full of individuals with philanthropist entrepreneur spirit. An inspiring group to say the least! While we shared a similar outlook on life it didn’t take long to notice I was up social media creek without the help of iPhone, Twitter or HootSuite. This group is packing heavy social media weight and there I was with my pen and notepad.

Not an idea worth spreading?

This year’s theme, “The Fine Line”, represents the ‘space’ where ideas are born and a platform to share diverse points of view. Amongst the attendees, I was in the room chatting about an idea I think is worth spreading – the fine line between existing and living.

Kyprios: There is a reason this guy won the Peak Performance project, he knows how to perform! He is also a wizard with words… I’d share one of his songs with you here but it is very strongly worded, if you are up to hearing it you can find “Hate” on youtube, be sure to listen to the end. I haven’t been able to stop listening to his music, in particular the one below… which lyric do you think is my favourite?

11. Dr. Jack Horner – A gifted old school story teller. The most engaging man of the day got a ton of laughter from the crowd with his straight faced humorous reflections on the vanity of science. Dr. Jack brought us all up to speed on why science overlooked baby dinosaurs and how that related to an incorrect assertion that there were more varieties of dinosaurs than there actually is. Essentially Dr. Jack spearheaded the discovery of baby dinosaurs and broke some scientific hearts out there through cutting the number of dinosaur names. Was briefly in a conversation circle with Dr. Jack and felt a little bad that he was not getting the level of engagement befitting a man of his accomplishments. He definitely has some charm.

Title: Shape-Shifting Dinosaurs: The Cause of a Premature Extinction

Live Notes – AKA: Scientists like to name things. Why does everyone like dinosaurs? They’re big, different and gone.

Even More

I was pleased to chronicle the talks for the 2nd year (my TEDX Van 2009 Twitter coverage). Thanks for the invite. Again, if i missed a post, photoset, video etc. post a comment so all can enjoy your coverage.

I saw Josh Fox on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show so am a little aware of Gasland – a film about natural gas companies who contract property owners around the US to put pumps on their land. For impoverished folks, this can be a windfall but there are huge consequences with polluted ground water, ill health and all sorts of problems.

He was just nominated for an Academy Award, let’s see what Josh Fox has to say.

Here he comes… with a banjo! {overdub: “I’m not a pessimist”… says the film.} This is gonna be good! “It’s gonna be a bit of an adventure today.” says Mr. Fox. Noted.

This story is personal

He comes from the inter-connected watershed of Delaware River basin… {talks while banjo riffs}… Back in the 1970s, Nixon administration produced EPA and major environmental laws to protect America from pollution, {riffs}, in 2008 April, {riffs}… my family received a letter from a natural gas company saying, “Your land is atop of a shale with natural gas uses a technique called “hydraulic fracturing (fracing)”” The gas industry assured them “no big deal” just like a fire hydrant {riffs} and came with a “signing bonus.” It turns out 65% of Penn, 50% of NY, 35 states … received these letters. So i went out to ask questions.

{go banjo!}

“My neighbours told me about the process … They inject massive water amount and chemical mix into the ground.” {banjo riffs} … Josh continues (paraphrased): “I went to a nearby town where they’d been drilling for only 4 months and water wells had exploded!” {banjo} “The people said, “My water is bubbling and fizzing, my kids are getting sick, cats are loosing hair.”

{audience captivated – Fox rolls on, bespectacled and comfortable… }

“I began hearing about these stories of exploding wells and fizzing water, so I loaded up the car – with a banjo – to go to Colorado to see someone light their water on fire.

{cue film clip – comment: boom – whoa dude!}

“Next, I went to Wyoming to see the air problems.” {banjo riffs, film plays} A rancher says, “They cut the land to pieces – they do it different on every hole, nobodies watching, it’s a free for all.” Rancher goes on, “The venting tanks are everywhere, surrounding the house with brown air.”

Josh goes on, “I went to 24 states and heard the same story: cancer, brain damage, air, water, strange illnesses…”

{bring it down}

Yoko Ono Lennon & Josh Fox

Around this point, Josh realized he was making a film and this was the best way to help. He rushed the project into production as time is of the essence. Assembled team of 4 people (editor, 2 producers, director(him)).

Then, accolades at Sundance and pick-up on HBO (note: and a LennonOno Grant for Peace). Film just opened in Australia (authour question: Did you jam with banjo and didjeridoo?) where the practice is rampant as well. (another note: just seeing via Twitter that this frac-ing on leased private land is common in NE BC).

{bring finish}

Josh took the movie on tour to the affected towns expecting dozens but seeing thousands – huge crowds needing release and recourse. Many brought water samples to confirm their fears. The gas industry came out with counter messaging… But despite the pushback and challenges,… He’s got faith! {riff that banjo!} “because in every town, there is a grassroots organization which has sprung to life…” {oh yeah!} “Indeed in the midst of David vs Goliath battles which are arduous and hard, it’s easy to forget that David won.”

What if your fave social network started ranking you by how different you are from your friends?
What if your website was suddenly mostly Icelandic?
What if your music site thought you should listen to country music?

Explain: “game designers take fun seriously” people feel pleasure when completing a series of steps – add variables like timing and amount of rewards to spur behaviour

3) All your friends are there

Explain: desire for connections and “a place to hang out” … (in these games) “who you know is more important than what you know” & “status is everything” (which requires significant time investment) … each new player validates existence of this place

Note: Need regional solutions, however cities are the same/simliar around the world.

Note: Concrete – heavy and dirty (5-8% of carbon footprint) and world make 3 tonnes per person per year – and Steel (one of most enery intensive materials to produce) are two main materials for urban construction

Alternatives:

Needs: 1) Reduce carbon emission & 2) Remove carbon from system

Idea: Wood does both… {author note: hmmm i’m listening} one cubic meter stores 1 tonne of carbon… But… deforestation is a problem… So wood must come from sustainably-produced forests and we need to change the way we work with wood (read: innovate). So, Innovation and Ambition FTW – “It’s in our nature to build things tall and big, we (architects) need to build them better.”

Example: In Vancouver, wood building limit was only 4 stories tall – now can build to 6 storeys. In London, up to 9 stories. In Japan, visited a 19 storey tall wood building built 1400 years ago.

Anecdotes: What if Egypt only allowed stone building a certain height or Paris only allowed short wrought iron buildings? In Russia, a guy build a giant ramshackle wood building (world’s tallest-ish). Norway and Austria are building big in wood ushering in a new era of “building race” – a competition to problem-solve. And Canada should be part of this. We know these things. But we’re not doing fast enough and not investing in these things.

Big Problems = Big Opportunities

“The nation who chases these problems are the ones who’ll experience the economic reward.”

The way the kids answer, “Food, Water and Love” Or, “Love, laughter, sushi”

Anecdote: At CITR you are a writer, producer, operator – you can do whatever you want within CiTR guidelines. My vision to put on a show with Mudhoney (authour note: i was there!), and started handing out pennies, however the people threw them back, I didn’t know what to do so i asked the people to psit at me

Example: cue graphic video, not for sqeamish

Anecdote: Photo opp with Snoop Dogg, (he says “Scchnoop Doggie Dogg”). N says, “The less you know the better… for interviews… I was wondering what to talk about it with SDD, … maybe he likes Redd Foxx?

Example: cue video, Snoop bidding up the Redd Foxx doll to $40

Anecdote: Nardwaur wit Kurt Cobain. How did i pull that off? I asked!

Ergo (paraphrased): Showed up early at PNE, hid in bathroom, caught but left cassette tape hoping Kurt would find it. Went home empty handed. Next morning, call and learned Nirvana was at 4 Seasons. Saw Dave Grohl,.. got on guest list but couldn’t get in. Kurt and Courtney saw me, let me in. Next thing, backstage with Kurt… and it happend. There is a fine line how that works out… Each interview is different.

Anecdote: Chretien and G2o rally – “Interviewers job is to make the interviewee exciting” So Nardwuar asks Chreiten about the fictional punk band “The Nomads” and their song “Suroharto Stomp” …

While crowds were getting maced/pepper-sprayed outside, Nardwuar cut his hair and attended press conference and asked questions about whether the PM would consider being a protestor and participant in a punk band if he was 20+ years younger. Put JC in a squirmy situation, ergo:

Example: cue video of press conference,Nardwuar asked, “Does Mace = Freedom?” Baffled PM says, “This technique did not exist when i was young,” and (famously, “For me, the pepper goes on the plate.”

Anecdote: He bagan taking a “Hip Flip” (a participatory game in which two people work together to rotate a toy). First, N asked Paul Martin (did), then Jack Layton (he did + nice ‘stache), then Stephen Harper (he declined).

Next, asked Stephane Dion (former Federal Liberal leader)…, security takes away the Hip Flip, and security says asks, “ins’t this embarrassing for you?” Check the embarrassment and hack the town hall by asking Dion, “Why not Hip Flip?” to delight of the crowd.

Example: “When security is hauling you away, lift your legs so you are crowd surfing ratherthan being dragged.” Chretien did the hip flip too and called him a “dummy.”

Nardwuar and Bev. Davies by @jmv

Anecdote: Back to Snoop,… (Snoop hands blunts to cameraman), Nardwuar says, “The minute you think you know everything, is when you should stop doing it.”

Example: cue video of Snoop rolling a blunt and putting it in a microwave for :05 seconds. Snoop says N has “personality and courageousness.”

Note to self: Check the credits on Snoop Dogg’s album to see call out for Canuck Cousin, Nard “stay hard” Waur.

Anecdote: Lady Gaga. Nardwaur says, “Who cares if you have an audience at all” … “the Internet never forgets” … “in 8 months Gaga went from Nardwaur to Larry King”

Geny X isn’t big enough to fill power vacuum from boomers, but Gen Y is, and this filling will happen fast and permeates all facets of culture

“We don’t have to accept the rules of the past, we can start a new game.”

The world is young and globalization means Gen Y Is everywhere

3) Diversity: Asia, Africa, India, South America, Middle East has most Gen Ys. As such, can use diversity to solve complex problems. Environment is common cause. And these groups have ability to communicate.

This generation will be judged on what we share instead of what we own. Ex: Open Source movement – a clear shift from individual to collective. This idea permeates into mainstream culture, Ex: Freecycle movement. Imagine is this was an “official” public system like garbage collection. An interccoencted network to reduce waste and provide for needy.

4) Connectivity: Most connected generation but the digital revolution hasn’t really happened yet. When previously silent voices into the conversion, that is the real digital revolution.

Next, bring social networks into institutions – change democracy and media with tools like Twitter and SNS to organize rallies and document police abuse Ex: Iran Election. Backlash cause government to take evasive action to shut down attempt to quell noise.

“Imagine if we structured the UN like Wikipedia?”

5) Crisis: They’ve come age during a time of crisis – catalyzes needs for action and change of system. Like previous “hero” generations, crisis is backdrop, indeed Gen Y is coming of age in a time of convergent catastrophe – living in a media scape dominated by fear. But changes are possible …

Gen Why is you. We are the spawn of globalization, technology, connectivity, environmental crisis, and have more questions than the authorities can answer. We believe in independent thinking, cultural alternatives, progressive politics, racial integration, art, music, creativity, peace, compassion, intelligence and respect for all living things.

Right now over half of the world’s population is under 35. We are the largest, most connected, most educated, most diverse generation in history. We have the collective power to create whatever we want.

Today, Bob Kronbauer, culturalist and curator of the charming chronicle Vancouver is Awesome, and me Dave Olson (i’m a mixed media story maker by weekend, renegade social web community builder by day), will be bringing behind-the-scenes play-by-play to the day.

Have questions? Tag your tweets #TedXVan and we’ll find em and bring you into the West Vancouver theatre filled with chipper folk despite the early hour.

Dig into to Ted X Van!Diligent bloggers

Ace photographer Kris Krug is on-site with a squad of photo-geeks and of course, we’ll work the photos into the post but be sure to track the #TedXVan tag in Flickr as well.There is a great batch of photos from last year and i’m seeing a lot of the same faces after a quick look through the photos.

I was at last year’s TedXVan but this is Bob’s first foray into this format. The theme is The Fine Line – we’ll figure out what that means as we go along. Now the MC is up and giving the line-up and mentions of the after party (which seems like a long time from now, right now ;-).

Today (Nov. 27, 2010) , Bob Kronbauer, culturalist and curator of the charming chronicle Vancouver is Awesome, and me Dave Olson (i’m a mixed media story maker by weekend, renegade social web community builder by day), will be bringing behind-the-scenes play-by-play to the day.

Have questions? Tag your tweets #TedXVan and we’ll find em and bring you into the West Vancouver theatre filled with chipper folk despite the early hour.

Dig into to Ted X Van!

Diligent bloggers

Ace photographer Kris Krug is on-site with a squad of photo-geeks and of course, we’ll work the photos into the post but be sure to track the #TedXVan tag in Flickr as well.There is a great batch of photos from last year and i’m seeing a lot of the same faces after a quick look through the photos.

I was at last year’s TedXVan but this is Bob’s first foray into this format. The theme is The Fine Line – we’ll figure out what that means as we go along. Now the MC is up and giving the line-up and mentions of the after party (which seems like a long time from now, right now ;-).